In the $30 billion video game industry’s HALO3 is seen as an equivalent of a new Potter book and Microsoft is having huge hopes from the game to finally push its money-losing entertainment division into success.
Apparently, Microsoft has supported the game with varied marketing strategy with celebrity-studded midnight sales events at some 10,000 retailers across the United States. Gaming retail chain GameStop Corp. said the title set a record for advance orders, while Microsoft expects initial demand to surpass that for 2004’s ‘Halo 2,’ which racked up $125 million in its first 24 hours.
Shane Kim, vice president of Microsoft Game Studios, told Reuters Television, said
This is a critical holiday in terms of winning the next-generation console fight versus our competition and nobody has anything to go up and match ‘Halo’.
Matt Rosoff, an analyst with Directions on Microsoft said,
‘Halo’ merchandise is a logical way to earn some extra revenue and they are trying to collect on as many fronts as they can to turn Xbox into a profitable business.
The biggest idea here is to make every single individual aware of this new product. Steve Schrek, director of franchise development at Microsoft said,
We make money and making money is great because this is a business. But we want long-term money that satisfies the fan base, not money today.
Pontiac dropped as much as $7 million to cross-promote ‘Halo 3′ and its G6 coupe. PepsiCo is reaching into its own pockets to hype Game Fuel, its ‘Halo 3′ Mountain Dew. And game retailer GameStop ran a TV campaign in August and September to drive pre-orders.
Speaking of retailers it definitely looks like they’re getting or at least wanting a big chunk of the ‘Halo’ bandwagon.
Microsoft began selling ‘Halo 3′ hoping the acclaimed alien shooter game will widen its lead over Sony Corp. in the battle for industry dominance.
Some game enthusiasts lined up prior to daybreak at a Best Buy store on New York’s Fifth Avenue to seize a good place for the launch extravaganza while others took gain of the retailer’s offer to let them pay for a copy of the game and pick it up at midnight or the next day.
And guess who was the first one at the store’s checkout counter, turning in a receipt to pick up his advance order?
Echoing the tagline for a game featuring a futuristic soldier battling to save humanity from an alien onslaught, Alex Escobar said,
It is worth it. It is time to finish this fight.
What had been a only a modest gathering earlier in the day had swelled to a crowd of about 500 people that cheered as buyers entered the store, resembling other big consumer debuts this year, such as the last ‘Harry Potter’ book and Apple Inc’s iPhone.
At a Best Buy near Microsoft headquarters outside Seattle, company founder Bill Gates was cheered by a crowd of more than 500 HALO fans when he emerged from the store to shake hands.
In a joking reference to the game’s ‘mature’ rating, meaning it is intended for customers 17 and older, Gates said,
I gotta check your ID to see if you’re 17.
Gates personally sold and autographed the first copy to Ritesh David, a 17-year-old who was stunned to find himself being served by the richest man in America.
There were fans who waited in line for more than 24 hours to receive the first copies of the video game “Halo 3″ from the game’s hero, Master Chief, at Best Buy in Manhattan at midnight.
Microsoft Game Studio’s “Halo 3,” has been the most anticipated video game in history and has pre-sold more than 1.7 million copies before officially going on sale.
So let us hope it bills all the earlier dreams in this industry put together by the Big Chief of Microsoft Corp and it ends with a great hello.
